Backstage at the Golden Globes

Jan. 17, 2005

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Hatcher beat out "Desperate" co-stars Marcia Cross and Felicity Huffman to win the trophy. They were joined by co-stars Eva Longoria and Nicolette Sheridan to present the nominees for best actor in a TV movie or miniseries.

When show creator Marc Cherry accepted the trophy for best TV comedy series, he told the audience that, just a few years ago, he was a 40-year-old man who had gone 2½ years without even an interview.

Cherry said his big break came when his agent was arrested for embezzlement. Cherry ended up with a new agent and found success when he began selling "Desperate Housewives" as a soap opera instead of a satire. He thanked his mom for her financial support and for giving him the idea for a new TV show.

"Now that's good parenting," Cherry said.

Foxx: Something in the Water

Talk about unbridled excitement, when Foxx won for best actor in a musical or comedy, he did anything but play it cool.

"I wish I could take what I'm feeling right now and put it in the water system, and we would all love each other a whole lot more," he proclaimed.

"Can I just tell you that I am having the ride of my life right now?"

Foxx won for his dead-on portrayal of Ray Charles in "Ray." The comic could have walked home with three awards, having also been nominated for best supporting actor in a film drama for "Collateral" and for best actor in a TV movie or miniseries for his role in "Redemption." He was the first actor ever with three Golden Globe nominations in a single year.

But did the losses matter? Foxx put it this way: "Is this the best day of my life? Wow! It is."

DiCaprio: A Man Obsessed

After winning best actor in a film drama for his portrayal of Howard Hughes, DiCaprio now has to be considered the front-runner in the Oscar race for best actor. Foxx may be destined to get a nomination as well, but Academy Award voters tend to favor dramas.

But DiCaprio not only starred in "The Aviator," he was also one of the film's executive producers, so he was doubly delighted when the film picked up trophies for best film drama and for best original score.

The 30-year-old actor, best known for "Titanic," had long wanted to play the bizarre billionaire, even though some say he was too young for the part. But DiCaprio spoke backstage about why Hughes' life resonates with him.

"He was a man obsessed with everything he did in his life. Whether it be women, airplanes, money, business, the man would not stop until he reached his own ideals of perfection," DiCaprio said. "And when you play an obsessive character like that it's completely challenging and it's something you can't wait to do, so I've been waiting to do it for eight years."

Williams: A Sign of the Apocalypse

In his trademark frenetic style, Robin Williams was honored with the Cecil B DeMille Award for career achievement. The comic noted that he'd won the first of his five Golden Globes 27 years ago, for "Mork & Mindy."

"Two years later, you gave it to Pia Zadora," he said at the podium, poking fun at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which had its credibility called into question for bestowing a Golden Globe on the actress for her notorious box office bomb, "Butterfly."

Williams then thanked the HFPA for "having an open bar" and for giving him an award with a "nipply thing" on top.

Williams riffed on the famous faces in the ballroom, saying, "I'd also want to thank you for having Prince, William Shatner, Puff Daddy and Mick Jagger on the same stage. That is the sign of the apocalypse."

Backstage, Williams said his speech was entirely unscripted. "Even I didn't know what I was going to say."

Dave Alpert, Bill Diehl and Heidi Oringer of ABC Radio in Los Angeles and Buck Wolf in New York contributed to this report.